'Shop by category' sub-hero on the homepage: +40.41% collection views
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsReplacing a 'Shop Best Sellers' button with a 'shop by category' section in the homepage sub-hero lifted collection views by 40.41%.
Enavi ran this test for the cookware brand Xtrema, and it was published as a Convert.com case study.
The goal was to help visitors find a product, since most of the site's traffic never viewed one.
- Collection views: +40.41%, the primary goal. Many more homepage visitors went on to browse a category.
- Reported at 100% statistical significance on a sample of 7,937 visitors, with a 50/50 split over 8 days.
- Purchase conversion rate was tracked, but the result for this test was not shared. Treat this as an engagement win, not a proven sales win.
The change
A single bestsellers button becomes an icon grid of product categories.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The homepage sub-hero, just below the main hero, had a single 'Shop Best Sellers' button.
Variant
The button was replaced with a mobile-friendly, icon-led section that let visitors jump straight to the main product categories.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Xtrema's buyers had shopped for cookware before, so letting them pick a category may suit them better than pushing one list of bestsellers.
- Icons for each category give several clear paths at once, instead of one button that only fits some visitors.
- A category grid works well on small screens, where a single button is easy to scroll past.
Caveats: The test measured collection views, an early engagement step; its effect on purchases or revenue was not reported. It ran for only 8 days, and the source is a testing-tool vendor's case study.
Who ran it
Enavi ran this test for Xtrema and published the results (Convert.com case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Enavi →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we replace a single 'Shop Best Sellers' button below the hero with a shop-by-category section, then more homepage visitors will reach a collection page because they can go straight to the type of product they came for.
- Primary metric
- Homepage-to-collection click-through (collection views)
- Guardrails
- Purchase conversion rate
- Revenue per visitor
- Bestseller product page views
- Who should test it
- Stores with a few clear product categories and many homepage visitors who never view a product. It may matter less for single-product stores or sites where most traffic lands straight on product pages.
Questions
Should the homepage push bestsellers or categories?
It depends on your shoppers. In this test, experienced cookware buyers browsed far more when given categories, but the purchase impact was not reported.
Do more collection views mean more sales?
Not always. Collection views are an early step, so check conversion rate and revenue per visitor before you call it a win.
How long should a homepage test run?
Long enough to reach your planned sample and cover at least one full week of traffic.
This one ran 8 days on about 7,900 visitors.
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